Vision of the Future
by Sari Dark
Summary: Ezra has a startling vision...what else can I say? This is what happens when you watch all the Star Wars movies then watch Star Wars: Rebels...


At first Ezra wasn't quite sure where he was, but the point quickly became moot because wherever he was, it was about to blow up. He didn't know how he knew that either, but based on all of the Stormtroopers feeling to their ships he figured that this Imperial station was probably about to blow. All of a sudden one of the troopers is running straight for him and before Ezra has a chance to try and dodge him…the trooper runs right through him.

"What the?"

Before he can think of what could possibly be going on Ezra feels a strong pull in the Force that is so strong Ezra is pretty sure he has whiplash from looking in the direction it is pulling him. What he sees, however, serves only to confuse him further. To his right, slowly approaching a ship, is Darth Vader. Not only that, but he is leaning on a boy who looks a couple years older than Ezra is now. He wears all black, but the thing that draw's Ezra's attention, and ultimately motivates Ezra to get closer, is the lightsaber strapped to the boy's belt. Ezra's not really sure why, but he tries to help the boy carry the Sith Lord, only to discover that he passes right through him, just like the Stormtrooper. The boy stumbles and he and Vader fall. It doesn't take the boy long to get back up and drag the black-clad man over to the ramp of the ship. He stops at the bottom of the ramp and pulls Darth Vader up so they are face to face.

"Luke, help me take this mask off," Vader breaths out heavily.

'He's dying' Ezra realizes. He's surprised by his own concern for the Dark Lord; after all, it wasn't too long ago that the man had tried to kill him.

"But you'll die." The boy named Luke says, worry clear on his face.

"Nothing can… stop that now. Just for once…let me…look on you with my _own_ eyes."

Darth Vader's breathing is even more strained than usual and Ezra feels strong emotions coming from both Vader and Luke. Ezra watches in wonder as Luke takes off Vader's helmet and then the face plate.

"No…" Ezra breaths, not believing his eyes.

The sight of Darth Vader's scarred and burned-smooth skin sends a shiver down his spine, and for some reason, tears to his eyes. It had always been easy to imagine the Sith Lord as something less than human, something monstrous and cruel because that was his purpose, but realizing that there was a person in that suit…Ezra couldn't take it.

"Now, go…my son. Leave me." Vader manages, adding another shock to Ezra's system. 'Did he say son?'

"No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you." Luke insists.

Tears start to stream down Ezra's face. The emotions coming off of the two men in front of him making it impossible to stop.

"You already have. Luke, you were right, you were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right."

Ezra's heart about skips a beat when he hears the word 'sister.' Vader has not one, but two kids!? And what was it about Vader that Luke was right about?

Vader's eyes flutter closed and he slumps back, releasing his final breath.

"Father. I won't leave you." Luke insists, but it's too late, Darth Vader is dead.

Ezra watches as Luke begins to cry over his dead father and Ezra finds himself unable to suppress a cry of anguish that comes from a place deep within him.

Suddenly Ezra is somewhere else. He realizes he's panting and takes a deep breath to steady himself. His throat hurts as if he's been screaming.

"Ezra! Are you alright?" Kanan asks worriedly.

Ezra, startled, looks up into his master's face. Kanan is holding him close, his right side pressed against the man's chest like how you would hold a child. They're sitting on the floor in the common room of the _Ghost_ and Ezra remembers that the rest of the crew is on a supply run. He had been getting something to eat before training with Kanan... Ezra doesn't know how to respond; not only to Kanan's question, but to the seeming shift in atmosphere, so he curls further into his master's embrace and cries, shock taking hold. The residual effects of what could have only been a very vivid vision starting to slowly fade.

Kanan holds Ezra close and lets the kid cry. Whatever he had seen in his vision must have been really bad to get this sort of reaction from the padawan. It takes Ezra a couple minutes to compose himself, but unlike after his previous visions, Ezra is not immediately forthcoming with information.

"Ezra…what happened?" Kanan asks gently, knowing this was going to be hard for the teen.

"I…I saw Vader die." He says softly.

Kanan is confused. Why would that be a bad thing? There had to be more.

"How did he die?" Kanan gently asks for more information.

"I'm not sure, but…" Ezra says, voice more confident, but not sure how to go on.

Kanan waits patiently for his padawan to collect his thoughts.

"He died in his son's arms…a-and he told Luke that he was right about him and to tell his sister that he was right… there was so much pain and sorrow coming from both of them. It felt like my heart was being ripped out." Ezra explains, shifting so he is sitting under his own power.

Kanan stares in wonder at his padawan. To have a vision with such detail… Kanan had worried that the child's abilities were developing faster than he could teach, but this…this was beyond his expertise. Unfortunately there was no one else to ask, so he would just have to do his best.

"Luke? Who's Luke?" he asks in a calm voice, trying to piece together what the boy had said.

"Darth Vader's son" Ezra says a little dazed.

"And you said something about a sister?"

"Yeah, Luke's twin sister…wait, how do I know that?" Ezra furrows his brow in concentration.

"Ezra, relax. Let it come to you. Don't force it." Kanan encourages. "What else do you remember? Any little detail could help."

"I think… I think Luke is a Jedi. He has a lightsaber." 'Probably his father's,' Kanan thinks grimly.

"We're in a hanger bay. It looks like an imperial base of some sort. I… see Luke struggling to carry Darth Vader and I go to help, but I can't. Everyone passes right through me…Then Vader asks Luke to take his mask off. He says he wants to look at him with his own eyes…I don't think he's ever seen his son's face up close before. He knows he's dying and Luke does too, so Luke does…" Ezra pauses as tears come to his eyes.

How could he explain to Kanan what he had seen? What he had felt? What _they_ had felt? He tries coming at the situation from another angle to see if he can explain it better that way.

"Vader's human…" He breaths out.

Kanan raises a brow. It may be true that the Sith Lord is human, but it was still a little bit of a surprise to think of him that way.

"Under all that armor, behind that mask…" Ezra shakes his head, unsure of how to go on. "I looked into his eyes." Ezra says softly.

Kanan is surprised by this, not only was this vision so clear and straight forward, but Ezra was actually able to look into the eyes of their enemy as he died.

"You looked into his eyes?"

Ezra nods.

"He suffered through so much…he had so many regrets, but the way he looked at Luke…" Ezra takes a shaky breath. "There was so much love for his son and regret that he wasn't there to raise him, to train him as a Jedi…and…that he never got to tell Leia he loved her…"

Ezra's head shoots up and he stares at Kanan. "Leia…" he says in shock.

Kanan stares back. It couldn't possibly be _that_ Leia, could it?

"Kanan…she is the Leia we met, I know it! Wha-what should we tell her? Should we tell her? What should we do?" Ezra says, standing and starting to pace the small room.

"Ezra. Calm down." Kanan says sternly.

The padawan quickly falls quiet. Kanan stands and puts a hand on Ezra's shoulder, looking him in the eye.

"Are you one hundred percent sure that this Leia, who is Luke's sister and Vader's daughter, is Leia Organa?"

A serious look comes over Ezra's face. "Yes, I'm sure."

Kanan thinks about what to do for a moment. Should they tell her? Her life was already difficult. Maybe they shouldn't tell her. But on the other hand she has a twin brother somewhere out there in the universe and she has a right to know not only about him, but who her father is as well. Kanan frowns. No matter what decision they make the consequences of their actions seem grim. Kanan takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"I think… I think, for now, we should do nothing."

"What?"

"When looking into the future, sometimes the best action is no action at all."

"But…" Ezra begins, but then he realizes that Kanan might be right. "I…understand master."

Ezra wipes his face with the back of his hand, trying with little success to eliminate any sign that he had been crying. Kanan takes a centering breath himself. Their situation just got more difficult.


End file.
